Can carrier



Jan. 5, 1965 A. B. PAREDES 3,164,290

CAN CARRIER Filed July 30, 1962 Arm/ado b. Pa/"eaw ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,164,290 CAN CARRIER Armando B. Parades, Box 623, Bayamon, Puerto Rico Filed July 30, 1962, Ser. No. 213,526 1 Claim. (Cl. 220112) This invention relates to a paperboard package for carrying articles and more particularly to a handled can carrier for carying a plurality of cylindrical containers therein.

Handled carriers for carrying cylindrical containers have experienced wide-spread use in recent years due to the increased use of cylindrical metallic containers for storing and vending soft drink beverages and other types of liquid material. The carriers of the prior art have suffered from a number of deficiencies. For example, it has been necessary to design the dimensions of can carriers to accommodate the cylindrical containers to be contained therein to a great degree of accuracy. Slight variations in size of the containers cannot be readily met by the prior art can carriers since containers which are smaller than those for which the can carrier has been designed will have a tendency to fall out of the carrier whereas containers which are larger than those designed for the can carrier will have a tendency to tear the paperboard sides of the carrier because they must be force fitted therein. This problem is not adequately solved by prior art carriers.

Can carriers of the prior art which are provided with handles composed of two substantially identical members have required that these handles be positioned intimate with each other and pasted together along their entire length. Handles of this type tend to be rigid and exert a great deal of pressure on .the hand of the bearer thereof. This problem is overcome by providing a two membered handle wherein each member is positioned a predetermined distance from its companion member and wherein the members are not pasted together. The two handle members form a triangle with the top surface of the carrier. The handle further includes a foldable portion in each section thereof which is capable of being folded inwardly between the two handle members to provide a flat portion which rests upon the hand of the bearer. This provides a flexible handle with a flattened portion rather than an edge and substantially reduces any pressure applied to the hand of the bearer at the points of contact.

The above problem regarding differences in container size is overcome in the case of the larger containers in accordance with the present invention by providing a one piece rectangular paperboard blank which is cut and creased to provide a handle and rectangular article accommodating and restraining openings at the junction of its side wall panels and its top and bottom forming panels whereby a slit is provided in the side walls extending perpendicular to each of the openings along each of the side walls for a predetermined distance of small dimension compared with the height of the side wall. The can carrier in accordance with the present invention is capable of handling cylindrical containers of a size larger than those for which the carrier was originally designed by panting of same in the vicinity of the slits, thereby applying a much smaller pressure to the side walls than is applied to the can carriers of the prior art. In this manner the possibility of rupture of the side walls of the can carrier is greatly reduced.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a can carrier capable of handling a greater variety of size of containers than similar can carriers of the prior art.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a can carrier which is fabricated from a single rectangular 3,164,296 Patented Jan. 5, 1965 sheet of paperboard having a bottom, two sides and a top portion and capable of maintaining cylindrical containers of varying sizes securedly locked therein.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a can carrier having a handle which provides a relatively large area for contact with the hand of the purchaser to substantially reduce the pressure applied thereto.

These objects and other objects of this invention will be fully apparent to those skilled in the art as the disclosure is made in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the blank from which the can carrier is formed;

FIGURE 2 is a side cross-sectional view of the can carrier in assembled condition;

FIGURE 3 is a view in elevation of the completed and packed can carrier.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is illustrated a preferred embodiment comprising a can carrier in accordance with the present invention. Referring to FIGURE 1, there is shown a fiat paperboard blank 1. The blank 1 includes a cut out portion 15, 16 and 17 and foldable portions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 44 and 45. The panel portion of the blank numbered 11, located between the folds 4 and 5 is the bottom of the can carrier while panels 10 and 12 form the sides and member panel 13 and tab 9 form the top thereof. The members 8 and 14 together form the handle for the can carrier.

Each of the side panels 10 and 12 is provided with a plurality of apertures 18 to 29 spaced along the creased lines 3, 4, 5 and 6. The apertures are of rectangular shape. Each of the apertures 18 to 29 includes a slit pontion extending perpendicular to the major dimension thereof and at its center portion for a distance which is small as compared with the height of the side panels 10 and 12. These slit portions are numbered 30 to 41, one slit portion being associated with each of the apertures. The apentures 18-29 can be formed easily by a punching operation, thereby reducing the hazard of forming openings by cutting blades which are easily dulled and form imperfect openings. The slits 30-41 are formed by cutting knives but imperfectly formed slits are split open as shown in FIG. 3 during the forming of the carton since the apertures form a good start for splitting. The handle portion 8 includes a hand receiving aperture 42 and a foldable portion 47 while the handle portion 14 includes a hand receiving aperture 43 and a foldable portion 46. The handle portions 8 and 14 are spaced apart and form two legs of a triangle when the carrier is in the assembled condition (FIGS. 2 and 3).

Containers are placed in the can carrier in the following manner. The folds 4 and 5 are folded so that the side panels 10 and 12 lie in perpendicular relation to the bottom panel 11. Six cylindrical containers are placed on the bottom panel 11, the cylindrical containers extending through the apertures 18 to 29. In other words, one can will extend through the apertures 18 and 21, a second can through the apertures 19 and 22, a third can through the apertures 20 and 23, a fourth can through the apertures 24 and 27, a fifth can through the apertures 25 and 28 and a sixth can through the apertures 26 and 29. The top panel 13 is then folded perpendicular to the side member 12 at the fold 6 .to overlie the cylindrical containers positioned in the can carrier. The tab portion 9 is then folded at the crease 3 and placed in an overlapping relationship with the top panel 13. An adhesive is placed on the internal portion of the tab 9 and, if desired, on the portion of the top panel 13 between the fold 6 and the fold 7 so that the tab 9 and the panel 13 are securedly fastened. The handle members 8 and 14 are folded in an upward relation at an acute angle to the top portion of the container to contact each other by forming a triangle so that the hand can be placed through each of the apertures 42 and 4-3 for easy lifting and carrying of the can carrier. The foldable portions 46 and 47 are then folded inwardly of the triangle to complete the fabrication of the can carrier.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above to achings. It is therefore to be understood that the appendant claim is to be interpreted as broadly as possible in view of the prior art to cover all such modifications and variations therein.

What is claimed is:

A carrier embodying, in combination, a carton comprising a strip of flexible material which is foldable at predetermined positions thereon to provide a carton body having a bottom portion at its center region for engaging the bottoms of containers and side members extending from each opposite edge of said bottom portion and foldable upwardly at said edge to form side Walls of the carton, the upper portions of said side members being xii foldable to provide a first top portion parallel to and of the same dimensions as said bottom portion and a second top portion overlying a part of said first top portion and bonded thereto, a first handle member defined in said first top portion, a second handle member adjoining said second top portion, said handle members being spaced apart at their contact points with said top of said carrier and meeting to form a triangle with said top, a plurality of article receiving apertures in each of said side members adjacent the junctions thereof with the bottom portion and with the top portions, and a slit associated with each of said apertures, each slit extending to its associated aperture and opening 'thereinto.

References fitted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,661,142 Hendrickson Dec. 1, 1953 1830,7215 Foster Apr. 15, 1958 2,869,770 Bass Jan. 20, 1959 2,874,870 Collura Feb. 24, 1959 2,986,272 Kruse May 30, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 830,534 Great Britain Mar. 16, 1969 

